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Turnout | 46.5% ![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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politics and government of Portugal |
Constitution |
Legislature |
The 2011 Portuguese presidential election was held on 23 January 2011. This election resulted in the re-election of Aníbal Cavaco Silva to a second term as President of Portugal. Turnout in this election was very low, where only 46.52% of the electorate cast their ballots. Cavaco Silva won by a landslide winning all 18 districts, both Autonomous regions of Azores and Madeira and 292 municipalities of a total of 308.
Any Portuguese citizen over 35 years old has the opportunity to run for president. In order to do so it is necessary to gather between 7500 and 15000 signatures and submit them to the Portuguese Constitutional Court.
According to the Portuguese Constitution, to be elected, a candidate needs a simple majority (50% + 1). If no candidate gets this majority there is a second round between the two most voted candidates.
During the 2006 presidential elections, former Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva, the only candidate of the center-right had won the ballot in the first round with 50.5% of the votes cast. He had faced two particular candidates from the ruling Socialist Party, the official candidate Mário Soares, former President of the Republic came in third with 14.3%, Manuel Alegre, a dissident, ranked second with 20.7% of votes. This historic victory of a conservative candidate, the first after the Carnation Revolution, inaugurated a period of "political cohabitation" with Socialist Prime Minister José Sócrates.
The general elections of September 2009 confirmed this situation, and brought the PS once again to power, however depriving him of his absolute majority. The situation of economic and financial crisis that the country lives led to the adoption of an austerity plan and budget for more frequent intervention of the Head of State in politics to promote agreement among political parties in the country.
Candidate | Original slogan | English translation | Refs | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aníbal Cavaco Silva | « Acredito nos Portugueses » | "I believe in the Portuguese" | [12] | |
Manuel Alegre | « Um Presidente justo e solidário » | "A fair and supportive President" | [13] | |
Fernando Nobre | « Um Presidente como nós » | "A President like us" | [14] | |
Francisco Lopes | « O voto certo na mudança necessária » | "The right vote in the necessary change" | [15] | |
Defensor Moura | « Contra a resignação » | "Against resignation" | [16] |
2011 Portuguese presidential election debates | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | P Present A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | |||||||||||||||||
Cavaco | Alegre | Nobre | Lopes | Moura | Refs | |||||||||||||||
14 Dec 2010 | RTP1 | Judite de Sousa | N | N | P | P | N | [17] | ||||||||||||
16 Dec 2010 | RTP1 | Judite de Sousa | N | P | N | N | P | [17] | ||||||||||||
17 Dec 2010 | SIC | Clara de Sousa | P | N | P | N | N | [17] | ||||||||||||
18 Dec 2010 | SIC | Clara de Sousa | N | P | N | P | N | [17] | ||||||||||||
21 Dec 2010 | TVI | Constança Cunha e Sá | P | N | N | P | N | [17] | ||||||||||||
22 Dec 2010 | TVI | Constança Cunha e Sá | N | P | P | N | N | [17] | ||||||||||||
23 Dec 2010 | SIC | Clara de Sousa | P | N | N | N | P | [17] | ||||||||||||
27 Dec 2010 | RTP1 | Judite de Sousa | N | N | P | N | P | [17] | ||||||||||||
28 Dec 2010 | TVI | Constança Cunha e Sá | N | N | N | P | P | [17] | ||||||||||||
29 Dec 2010 | RTP1 | Judite de Sousa | P | P | N | N | N | [17] |
Date released | Poll source | ![]() |
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Others/ Undecided |
Lead |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Silva PSD, CDS-PP - Inc. |
Alegre PS, BE |
Nobre Ind. |
Moura Ind. |
Lopes PCP |
Coelho PND | ||||
23 January 2011 | Election Results | 53.0 | 19.7 | 14.1 | 1.6 | 7.1 | 4.5 | 33.3 | |
23 January 2011 (20:00) | Exit Poll - RTP1 Universidade Católica |
52.0-58.0 | 18.0-21.0 | 13.5- 16.5 | 1.0-2.0 | 5.0-8.0 | 2.0-4.0 | 34.0 37.0 | |
23 January 2011 (20:00) | Exit Poll - SIC Eurosondagem |
51.6-56.0 | 17.1-20.9 | 13.1-16.3 | 1.1-2.1 | 6.3-7.5 | 3.3-4.5 | 34.5 35.1 | |
23 January 2011 (20:00) | Exit Poll - TVI INTERCAMPUS |
51.4-55.4 | 17.2-21.2 | 12.4- 16.4 | 0.7-2.7 | 5.8-8.8 | 3.1-5.1 | 34.2 | |
Exit polls | |||||||||
21 January 2011 | Sol (average) | 58.0 | 22.0 | 11.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 36.0 | |
21 January 2011 | Universidade Católica | 59.0 | 22.0 | 10.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 37.0 | |
21 January 2011 | Eurosondagem | 56.3 | 25.0 | 10.1 | 2.0 | 5.2 | 1.4 | 31.3 | |
21 January 2011 | Aximage | 54.7 | 25.6 | 10.7 | 1.8 | 6.3 | 0.9 | 29.1 | |
20 January 2011 | INTERCAMPUS | 54.6 | 22.8 | 9.1 | 2.6 | 8.2 | 2.7 | 31.8 | |
19 January 2011 | Marktest | 61.5 | 15.0 | 12.7 | 1.2 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 46.5 |
8 January 2011 | Aximage | 57.1 | 20.8 | 8.7 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 7.8 | 36.3 |
7 January 2011 | INTERCAMPUS | 60.1 | 25.3 | 4.2 | 2.5 | 6.3 | 1.6 | 34.8 | |
23 December 2010 | Eurosondagem | 60.0 | 30.0 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 4.5 | 30.0 | ||
19 December 2010 | INTERCAMPUS | 64.3 | 20.7 | 5.5 | 1.0 | 4.5 | 43.6 | ||
27 November 2010 | Eurosondagem | 57.0 | 32.0 | 5.2 | 1.0 | 4.8 | 25.0 | ||
26 November 2010 | Marktest | 78.3 | 15.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 63.3 | ||
21 November 2010 | INTERCAMPUS | 61.5 | 26.1 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 35.4 | |
29 October 2010 | Marktest | 71.3 | 20.2 | 5.0 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 51.1 | ||
29 October 2010 | Universidade Católica | 63.0 | 20.0 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 43.0 | ||
13 October 2010 | Aximage | 55.1 | 35.7 | 7.1 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 19.4 | ||
9 October 2010 | INTERCAMPUS | 55.5 | 30.7 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 5.6 | 24.8 | ||
25 September 2010 | Marktest | 71.0 | 22.0 | 4.0 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 49.0 | ||
24 September 2010 | Eurosondagem | 54.9 | 33.0 | 6.2 | 1.1 | 4.8 | 21.9 | ||
12 September 2010 | Aximage | 58.1 | 32.1 | 5.4 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 26.0 | ||
31 July 2010 | Marktest | 67.1 | 19.6 | 10.0 | 0.7 | 47.5 | |||
24 July 2010 | INTERCAMPUS | 59.4 | 26.8 | 9.1 | 2.9 | 32.6 | |||
12 July 2010 | Euroexpansão | 51.1 | 14.7 | 4.1 | 22.1 | 36.4 | |||
11 July 2010 | Aximage | 55.3 | 26.9 | 11.6 | 6.2 | 28.4 | |||
28 June 2010 | Universidade Católica | 50.0 | 19.0 | 7.0 | 25.0 | 31.0 | |||
13 June 2010 | Aximage | 53.4 | 28.1 | 8.6 | 9.9 | 25.3 | |||
14 March 2010 | Universidade Católica | 57.0 | 19.0 | 8.0 | 16.0 | 38.0 | |||
13 March 2010 | Aximage | 56.0 | 21.6 | 13.8 | 8.6 | 34.4 | |||
12 March 2010 | Eurosondagem | 36.9 | 25.0 | 9.6 | (5.0) | 23.5 | 11.9 | ||
22 January 2010 | Aximage | 60.3 | 39.7 | 20.6 |
Candidate (party) | Election Result |
State Subsidy | Political Parties Contributions |
Fundraising | Total Recipes | Expenses | Debt | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Calculated | Budgeted | Calculated | Budgeted | ||||||
Cavaco Silva (PSD, CDS-PP, MEP) | 53.0% | EUR1,920,000 | EUR1,570,000 | EUR0 | EUR550,000 | EUR2,470,000 | EUR2,120,000 | EUR2,120,000 | EUR0 |
Manuel Alegre (PS, BE, PDA, PCTP) | 19.7% | EUR836,000 | EUR1,350,000 | EUR500,000 | EUR50,000 | EUR1,386,000 | EUR1,900,000 | EUR1,640,000 | EUR254,000 |
Fernando Nobre (I) | 14.1% | EUR653,000 | EUR511,200 | EUR0 | EUR331,460 | EUR984,460 | EUR842,660 | EUR842,660 | EUR0 |
Francisco Lopes (PCP, PEV) | 7.1% | EUR425,000 | EUR512,000 | EUR270,000 | EUR18,000 | EUR713,000 | EUR800,000 | EUR800,000 | EUR87,000 |
Defensor Moura (I) | 1.6% | EUR0 | EUR225,000 | EUR0 | EUR25,000 | EUR25,000 | EUR250,000 | EUR250,000 | EUR225,000 |
José Manuel Coelho (PND) | 4.5% | EUR0 | EUR10,000 | EUR30,000 | EUR50,000 | EUR80,000 | EUR90,000 | EUR90,000 | EUR10,000 |
Luís Botelho Ribeiro (PPV) | - | - | EUR7,000 | EUR0 | EUR0 | EUR7,000 | EUR7,000 | EUR7,000 | EUR0 |
Source: Portuguese Constitutional Court (TC)[18] (Note that some candidates filed with the TC, but did not pursue their candidacy.) |
Candidates | Supporting parties | First round | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | |||
Aníbal Cavaco Silva | Social Democratic Party, People's Party, Hope for Portugal Movement | 2,231,956 | 52.95 | |
Manuel Alegre | Socialist Party, Left Bloc, Portuguese Workers' Communist Party | 831,838 | 19.74 | |
Fernando Nobre | Independent | 593,021 | 14.07 | |
Francisco Lopes | Portuguese Communist Party, Ecologist Party "The Greens" | 301,017 | 7.14 | |
José Manuel Coelho | New Democracy Party | 189,918 | 4.51 | |
Defensor Moura | Independent | 67,110 | 1.59 | |
Total valid | 4,214,860 | 100.00 | ||
Blank ballots | 192,127 | 4.28 | ||
Invalid ballots | 85,466 | 1.90 | ||
Total | 4,492,453 | |||
Registered voters/turnout | 9,657,312 | 46.52 | ||
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições |
Strongest candidate by municipality.